Category Health/Medical

Infrared images indicate the much warmer temperatures of a normal mouse (left) compared to a mouse unable to make ERR gamma (right). Credit: Salk Institute

A protein found in brown fat, but not typical white fat, is key to how the energy-burning brown fat cells function. While most fat cells in the human body store energy, everyone has a small subset of brown fat cells that do the opposite – burn energy and generate heat. Now, Salk researchers have discovered how the molecule ERRγ gives this “healthier” brown fat its energy-expending identity, making those cells ready to warm you up when you step into the cold, and potentially offering a new therapeutic target for diseases related to obesity.

“This not only advances our understanding of how the body responds to cold, but could lead to new...

This is an impression of a biological cell (brown) inside the artificial cell (green). Credit: Imperial College London

Researchers have fused living and non-living cells for the first time in a way that allows them to work together, paving the way for new applications. The system, created by a team from Imperial College London, encapsulates biological cells within an artificial cell. Using this, researchers can harness the natural ability of biological cells to process chemicals while protecting them from the environment. This system could lead to applications such as cellular ‘batteries’ powered by photosynthesis, synthesis of drugs inside the body, and biological sensors that can withstand harsh conditions.

Previous artificial cell design has involved taking parts of biological cell ‘mac...

Tests showed that subcutaneous implants, left, of a hydrogel developed at Rice University encouraged blood vessel and cell growth as new tissue replaced the degrading gel. Credit: Hartgerink Research Group/Rice University

A synthetic, injectable hydrogel developed to deliver drugs and encourage tissue growth turns out to have therapeutic properties all its own. Researchers in the Rice lab of chemist and bioengineer Jeffrey Hartgerink had just such an experience with the hydrogels they developed as a synthetic scaffold to deliver drugs and encourage the growth of cells and blood vessels for new tissue.

To do so, they often tested the gels by infusing them before injection with bioactive small molecules, cells or proteins...

University of Houston optometrist Nimesh Patel has quantified the changing eye structure of returning International Space Station astronauts.

Findings examine pre- and post-flight space station astronauts. Astronauts who spend time aboard the International Space Station return to Earth with changes to the structure of their eyes which could impact their vision. NASA has studied the phenomenon, known as space flight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS), for several years, and now a University of Houston optometrist has quantified some of the changes using optical coherence tomography imaging, reporting his findings in JAMA Ophthalmology...